Chapter 32: Two weeks
Edward hung up the phone unceremoniously, which was slightly unusual. But he sounded relaxed, and mentioned explaining more in a letter, so Nero was not too worried. He was relieved to hear the news about his mother.
Not only was she being healed, she was being taken to Lorilim, the capital of Kolar. There was no place more safe, so at least she wouldn't get caught up in whatever was happening in Aetherpeak.
Once she was healed, Nero knew for a fact that she would try to become a Mystic. If she really achieved that... if that really happened. Well, Nero couldn't really imagine what life would be like if that happened. Most likely, they'd have to move away from Aetherpeak to avoid attracting any attention from the Dom family. It was unlikely that they would just completely ignore something as significant as his mother becoming a Mystic after basically killing Patrick.
Fortunately, that would not happen anytime soon. By then, if everything went according to plan, he should be in KMA, so there would be nothing holding his family to this city.
Nero clenched his fists, but instantly released them. He couldn't let his emotions get riled up. Right now, he was nothing. He had no right to start imagining his revenge, so it was best to push those thoughts away.
When Nero returned to the apartment, all his roommates were sitting there, waiting in anticipation to hear about what had happened - as if they hadn't had their ears pressed up against the door frame the entire time!
He plastered a wide smile on his face as he gaslighted himself into believing he was in a good mood, and properly introduced himself to his other roommates. Their names were Richard and Felipe.
They both, alongside Anthony, were actually Nero's seniors, which was a great opportunity for Nero. He spent a good long time asking them questions about his aether related classes, and if any of them had appeared for the KMA exams.
The starting was slightly awkward, since they were not well acquainted, but with Nero's enthusiastic energy, they soon found themselves excitedly discussing the very classes they used to think were boring.
They hit it off, so they soon found themselves chatting and eating together. That's when Nero found out that the hostel had a cafeteria too, and it served breakfast, lunch and dinner! He could even get things packed and bring them to his room! Genuine tears streamed down his face when he was finally told all the food was also free. He had never known such luxury.
But the three needed to go to their night classes and Nero needed to study, so their gathering eventually ended.
Nero spent the rest of his time studying and reviewing things. Although not much was different, Gabriel could sense an unusual intensity coming from him.
The days after that fell into a steady routine, with nothing too out of the ordinary happening - at least for Nero. His progress with aether manipulation was extremely quick, and after his third class, he was cleared for the other classes.
It was not too difficult, at least for him. Others struggled mentally with visualising aether appearing anywhere around their body. In their case, their education worked against them, for they had trouble imagining aether moving around their bodies without the requisite pathways, such as veins or arteries, for blood. But how could a body that was never supposed to control aether have pathways for it?
His progress with card crafting was a lot more tame, because he was still studying the theory behind it.
Basic curses, one of his other mandatory classes, was also only theoretical for the moment, so it required a lot of rote memorisation.
Progress was slow and tedious, especially since Footer was adamant about having Nero completely master aether control to a higher level before he began practising his innate ability. It was excruciating to avoid, but ultimately Nero obeyed. For all his flaws, Footer was a good teacher.
Basic cultivation, then, became Nero's favourite class. It taught Nero how to absorb aether into his body to progress along the path of a Neophyte and become an Initiate. But, ironically, it was not absorbing aether that would lead him to the next level. Instead, he had to use the aether to accelerate the fusion of his innate card into his chest.
It was an interesting concept. The difference between a Neophyte, Initiate and Arcanist was the extent of fusion of their innate cards! This was something Nero did not know, and the theory behind it completely enamoured him.
The process of cultivation involved absorbing aether into his body, controlling it, and using it to 'pull' the card deeper into himself, somehow. Apparently, bit by bit, over a long period, this would result in small pieces of the card being absorbed into his body.
While this was the safest and most stable way of increasing his realm, it was also the slowest. When he asked how much he would need to absorb his innate card before becoming an Initiate, his teacher told him 40%, and that right now he was at 1%, which was caused by the synchronisation.
To his great dismay, faster means of cultivating were not handed out by schools. He called his father and asked if their family had some secret method, or at least a faster method, only for his father to burst out laughing. He never got an answer, because he could hear his father telling whoever he was near that his son thought his family actually had a more efficient cultivation method hidden in the basement or something. More laughing ensued.
Besides his own training, there were a few other things of note that happened. Silas' personality underwent a change, and he became more positive and confident. Vanessa, taking up Nero's offer, joined their group of friends - only to make sure that Silas was not being bullied, she stated to Nero separately.
There was also the small matter of the orchards being burnt that was revealed, alongside news that the assailants were never captured. Aetherpeak went under curfew, and thousands of soldiers flooded the streets, as if searching the whole city for something. But that had no bearing on Nero or his school. At least, for a time.
Two weeks later, the sound of an explosion woke up Nero in the middle of the night.